How to Build a Basic Shelf {with Storage Drawers!!}

hey guys it's shira from woodshop diaries so if you caught my last video i showed you how to build a large writing desk out of just basic plywood and some two by fours and that piece was actually going in my dad's office so today i'm showing you how to build a matching shelf with storage that will also be going in his office as well so if you're ready to get building and maybe put yourself a matching set together let's go [Music] this shelf design isn't your typical bookshelf with two deep drawers at the bottom it's almost like a dresser combined with a bookshelf and made this handy piece that's great for both storage and display my dad will actually be using this in his office to store and display product samples for his customers but this would also work well just about anywhere else that you might could use a little bit of extra storage but also a place to display some of your favorite items if you're interested in building your own of either the desk or this matching shelf piece i've got the detailed dimensions plans and materials list linked below for both and i'll show you how the shelf came together right here in this video i started this project out just like the last one by gluing up two by fours to make the leg posts i kept this build easy and inexpensive by using birch plywood and just basic two by fours obviously if you're building this yourself you can use any wood type that you wish for this project if you're not into a pine and spruce infer to glue up the legs i trimmed down my two by fours to roughly 32 inches long and then i glued and clamped four sets of two together to make four legs total [Music] once the glue had dried i took them to the table saw to clean up the edges and trim them down to a square three by three post since two by fours are about an inch and a half thick and three and a half inches wide i had to remove about a half inch from the edges to match the thickness of the three inches once the posts were three inches square i took them to the miter saw to trim them to their final length now just like with the matching desk from my previous video i tapered the ends of these leg posts for some extra detail this is a totally optional step but if you wanted to do it just adjust your miter saw to 60 degrees and then cut two adjacent sides from the center at the bottom out to the edge once the legs were all trimmed and tapered i could move on to the fun stuff assembly the main frame of this project was built with two by twos you could obviously purchase pre-cut two by twos at the lumber yard but i like to cut my own from two by fours as this provides me with some cleaner corners either way i just cut six pieces of two by two to about 12 inches long and six to forty inches long to build the frame of the shelf [Music] i assembled this project using pocket holes and screws so after everything was sanded well i begin drilling the pocket holes on the ends of the two by twos now the beauty of doing it yourself is that you can pick your own preferred method of joinery for your project if you don't like pocket holes feel free to use whatever method that you do like i actually had wanted to build this using dowels but i didn't have enough time to wait for the glue to dry because i was having my wisdom teeth taken out later in the week and i needed to be finished building this before the surgery so i opted for pocket holes for a faster assembly you won't see any of them in the finished project so it doesn't really matter here after all of the holes were drilled i began assembling two side frames i've got all the measurements for exactly where these pieces go in the plans linked below but the key here is that i installed these two by twos on the side so that they were flush to the inside of the legs i used a little wood glue at each joint as well i find that using two pocket holes in two by twos will usually cause the wood to split so i like to use a little wood glue with just one pocket hole screw with my two by twos that's just me you're free to use too or to use a totally different joinery method altogether now since the bottom of this piece is drawers i wanted to install a solid panel at the bottom of both side frames i mentioned in my last video that i have a ton of random plywood pieces that i really need to get rid of in my shop so i dug around in my pile and found two small pieces that would work perfectly for these sides i trim them down to their exact size on the table saw and test fit them before drilling pocket holes along the edges [Music] then i attach them flush to the inside of the frame using pocket holes and screws [Music] [Music] once the two side panels were assembled i was ready to build the rest of the frame but first i decided to attach the middle plywood panel between the two middle supports i dug around my shop some more and found a leftover plywood strip that i could cut down for this shelf piece after trimming it to its final size i drilled pocket holes along all the sides just like with the side panels this middle shelf will be installed into the shelf frame between two two by twos so to make things easier i just pre-assembled this whole middle shelf by screwing the panel into the middle two by twos first i attached the shelf so that it was flush across the top of the middle two by twos and i used a clamp to help hold these pieces together while i drove the screws [Music] now i could assemble the rest of the shelf frame i attached the middle shelf in place so that it was even with the side pieces and screwed the other two by twos in two at the top and two at the bottom again all of the measurements for everything here is shown in the blog post linked below so as a funny kind of not really funny side note i've injured my shoulder and my biceps somehow and if you see me doing anything weird or driving screws at a weird angle in this video that's why my right arm is in constant pain so at this point once this frame was together i was shot for the day so i turned out the lights and i came back the next day to finish up everything by adding the top and the drawers [Music] you're done for the day once my arm was rested up and i had taken a couple of ibuprofen i was ready to start the next day [Music] before working on the top i added some pieces in the middle at the bottom to separate the two drawers added a two by two at the middle and the front and the back and since these pieces were small it was hard to get a driver in to drive a pocket hole screw at the bottom so i just did one at the top and then i used a wood screw to attach these divider pieces at the bottom [Music] once these two middle pieces were in place i screwed a 2x2 in between them just to give me somewhere to mount the drawer slides before moving on i went ahead and installed two pair of 16 inch ball bearing drawer slides onto the shelf one and a half inches inset from the front edge so at this point i was ready to attach the top so i cut a piece for the top from a sheet of plywood i have a ton of scraps but unfortunately i didn't have any scrap big enough for the top so i did have to cut this from a full sheet by the way if you're interested in learning more about how i cut down my plywood sheets i will leave a helpful link to a video below that you might find useful once the top was cut down i applied iron on edge banding to the sides of the top to clean up the edges a little and gave it a good sanding before attaching by the way i just wrote a detailed tutorial for how to apply edge banding if you're interested in learning more i'll be sure to link that in the description below once the top was sanded i flipped it upside down and flipped the base upside down on top of it i made sure to leave one inch overhang on the front edge and one inch overhang on each side and screwed in place using two inch wood screws through the top two edges now all that's left is adding the drawers i headed back to my scrap pile and found several pieces to use for the drawer boxes i swear it seems like no matter how much i pull out of this pile it never gets any smaller i need to have a bonfire anyway i trim these pieces down to equal widths trim them to length then cut dados in them to install the quarter inch plywood drawer bottom [Music] i edge banded the tops which is an optional step but it does look really nice so i think that it's worth doing and then i assembled the drawer boxes using pocket holes and screws i'll link a detailed guide for how i build drawer boxes below if you'd like more information on sizing building and installing drawers and drawer slides [Music] once the boxes were together i installed them into the shelf and headed back to my plywood pile to find some pieces for the drawer fronts now just like with the desk from the previous video i was adding some trim on the drawer fronts so once the fronts were cut to size i cut to fit some cove molding to frame out the front edges i just glued and taped these in place until the glue dried while it was drying i also added some cove molding around the side panels to match i just glued these to avoid the nail holes but you could also brad nail these pieces in place if you wanted [Music] once the glue was dry on the drawer fronts i installed them onto the drawers using one and a half inch wood screws from the inside of the drawer box and it was done again just like with the matching desk i simply gave this project a clear coat poly to keep its natural color and then i added some simple black candles now it's ready to be put to good use i'm slowly but surely building my dad all new matching pieces for his office i built him these filing cabinets a while back a new work table recently now this storage shelf and if you stay tuned a new computer desk is currently in the works so if you've enjoyed these past projects and liked how this one turned out be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on the upcoming ones i really liked how this shelfless storage turned out and i'm excited to share the plans to build your own i have linked them below so be sure to check that out if you need one of these for your own space i hope you enjoyed this project thanks so much for watching and until next time happy building

Channel: Shara Woodshop Diaries

Views: 32,711

Rating: 4.9797411 out of 5

Keywords: DIY shelf with storage, diy shelf with storage drawers, shelf with storage drawers, bookshelf with storage drawers, how to build an open shelf, how to build an open shelf cabinet, how to build an open shelf with drawer, open shelf with drawer, 2x4 furniture projects, diy bookshelf, diy bookshelf with storage, bookshelf and dresser combo, how to add drawers to bookcase

Id: V_4yJbjSh6E

Length: 13min 34sec (814 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 22 2021